Fish way of turbine structure and gate structure for tidal power plant

ABSTRACT

Fishways of turbine structures and gate structures for environmentally-friendly tidal power plant through which fish can pass through are provided. The fishway comprises of sea side fishways and lake side fishways to allow fish to move between the sea side and the lake side by forming inside stuffing space filled with seawater for shorter construction period and concrete reduced placing quantity in a certain section of the vertical middle walls installed on the base of which the bottom part is on the marine rock to form blocks of turbine structures and gate structures in a tidal power plant, and seawater on the sea side and the lake side is flown through the front and rear of such inside stuffing space.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a tidal power plant, in particular tothe fishway of turbine structures and gate structures forenvironmentally-friendly tidal power plants through which fish can passthrough.

BACKGROUND ART

A tidal power plant generates power using the difference of water levelbetween the open sea and a lake by the flux and reflux of the tides.

The barrage, turbine structures, and gate structures that are comprisedof such a tidal power generation block the movement of fish, thusdestroying the ecosystem.

In general, every fish moves to lay eggs and capture food within ahabitat, and this small-scale movement is called local migration; butsome fish move a long distance to lay eggs. Such movement by the fish isblocked by structures that have recently been built.

Now there is a law requiring the installation of fishway whenconstructing dams. However, fishways with a wrong structure or fishwaysthat are not repaired or maintained to play its role after installationturn into a killing field for fish, causing problems in the ecosystem.

Particularly for tidal power plants which obstruct land and sea, asimple type of fishway at one place is considered for the entirestructure of the plant, but there has been no technology to installfishways that consider all of the swimming characteristics of thediverse species of fish.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention was invented in consideration of the conventionaltechnology mentioned above. The primary object of the present inventionis to provide an environmentally-friendly tidal power plant by forminginside stuffing space in a certain section of the vertical middle wallsinstalled to create blocks of turbine structures and gate structures ina tidal power plant for shorter construction period and reducedconstruction costs, and fishways through these inside stuffing spacesbetween the sea side and the lake side so that fish can move between thesea side and the lake side.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tidal powerplant by forming multiple fishways connected with the inside stuffingspace in the middle wall according to the swimming characteristics offish depending on the water depth so that many species of fish can movefreely, thus increasing the probability of fish movement.

To achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention featuressea side fishways and lake side fishways to allow fish to move betweenthe sea side and the lake side by forming inside stuffing space filledwith seawater for shorter construction period and reduced concreteplacing quantity in a certain section of the middle wall installed forforming turbine structure and gate structures as two units of one block,which are defined as one block of the turbine structure in which twoturbine generators divided by a middle wall are installed and operatedseparately or defined as one block of the gate structure in which twowater gates divided by a middle wall are installed and operatedseparately.

The fishways on the sea side and the fishways on the lake side formed inthe middle walls are formed in multiple units in fixed intervals alongthe perpendicular direction to the middle walls according to theswimming characteristics of fish depending on the depth of the sea.

Inside the fishways on the sea side and the fishways on the lake sideformed in the middle walls are partitions in fixed intervals which offertemporary resting and shelter for the swimming fish.

Around the inner walls of the fishways on the sea side and the fishwayson the lake side formed in the middle walls and the inside stuffingspaces are installed multiple red guiding lamps which generatelong-wavelength infrared rays to guide the fish.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plane view roughly illustrating an arrangement status oftidal power plants for installing turbine structures and gate structuresaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating one part of turbine structuresfor tidal power plants according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating inside stuffing spaces and fishwaysformed in the middle walls of turbine structures shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating one part of turbine structures fortidal power plants according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating one part of the gatestructures for tidal power plants according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating inside stuffing spaces and fishwaysformed in the middle walls of gate structures shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a gate structure for tidal powerplants according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along a line B-B in FIG. 8.

BEST MODE

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greaterdetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate example embodiments of the presentinvention. Example embodiments may, however, be embodied in differentforms and should not be considered as limited to the embodiments setforth in the drawings. Rather, these embodiments are provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Therefore, the example in this specification and the constructionillustrated on the drawings is only one desirable example of thisinvention and does not represent all the technical ideas of thisinvention. There can be various equivalents and variations of thisinvention at the time of this application.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a tidal power plant (10) is installed betweenthe lake (L) and the sea (W) on a construction site for tidal powerplants in which the difference of the flux and reflux of the tides isappropriate.

The above-mentioned tidal power plant (10) is anenvironmentally-friendly tidal power plant that consists of multipleblocks of turbine structures (20) and gate structures (50) which can beinstalled as two units of one block, and a connection structure (80)between them, and has an ocean tour function, an access road function,and a power generation function at the same time. In FIG. 1, referencenumeral 90 illustrates the wing wall of the turbine structure which isconnected to the outermost turbine structure (20).

As illustrated in FIG. 2 or FIG. 5, the turbine structure (20) has abase (21) of which the bottom part is on the marine rock, and verticalmiddle walls (22) on the base (21), the top of which is closed by aconcrete structure of which illustration is omitted wherein a draft tube(23) is formed, and turbine generators (24) are arranged in this drafttube. The turbine generators (24) in the turbine structures generatepower by the principle of using the difference of water levels betweensea and lake.

As mentioned above, the turbine structures (20) are operated in twounits of one block separated by middle walls (22) installed on the base,and turbine generators (24) arranged between the middle walls (22)through the draft tube (23).

The present invention features fishways on the sea side (26) andfishways on the lake side (27) inside the middle walls (22) which areconnected to the inside stuffing spaces (25) at the front and rear ofthe sea side and lake side (L) of the middle walls (22) through whichfish can move between the sea side (W) and the lake side by flowingseawater to the sea side (W) and the lake side (L) through the insidestuffing spaces (25) in a certain section filled with seawater forshorter construction period and concrete placing quantity.

As described above, a multiple number of the fishways on the sea side(26) and fishways on the lake side (27) inside the middle walls (22) canbe formed in fixed intervals in a perpendicular direction to the middlewalls (22) to allow fish to swim through the fishways on the sea side(26) and the fishways on the lake side (27) according to the swimmingcharacteristics of the fish depending on the water depth as shown by thevirtual lines in FIG. 5. One fishway will be formed in each middle wall(22) in consideration of the structure strength of the middle wall (22),but the locations of the sea side (26) and fishways on the lake side(27) can be differentiated by top, middle and bottom to cope with thedifferent swimming characteristics of the fish.

Furthermore, inside the fishways on the sea side (26) and the fishwayson the lake side (27) in the middle walls (22), we may arrange multiplepartitions (28) in fixed intervals which provide temporary resting andrefuge for swimming fish as illustrated in FIG. 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 to FIG. 9, the gate structure (50) has a base(51) of which a bottom part is on the marine rock, and vertical middlewalls (52) on the base (51), the top of which is closed by a concretestructure of which illustration is omitted wherein a waterway (53) isformed, and seawater may move through the water gates (54) formed at oneside of the waterway (53), when necessary.

As mentioned above, the gate structures (50) are operated in two unitsof one block separated by middle walls (52) installed on the base, andwater gates (54) arranged between the middle walls (52) through thewaterway (53).

The present invention features fishways on the sea side (56) andfishways on the lake side (57) inside the middle walls (52) which areconnected to the inside stuffing spaces (25) at the front and rear ofthe sea side and lake side of the middle walls (52) through which fishcan move between the sea side (W) and the lake side (L) by flowingseawater to the sea side (W) and the lake side (L) through the insidestuffing spaces (55) in a certain section filled with seawater forshorter construction period and concrete placing quantity.

As described above, a multiple number of the fishways on the sea side(56) and fishways on the lake side (57) inside the middle walls (52) canbe formed in fixed intervals in a perpendicular direction to the middlewalls (52) to allow fish to swim through the fishways on the sea side(56) and fishways on the lake side (57) according to the swimmingcharacteristics of the fish depending on the water depth as shown by thevirtual lines in FIG. 9. One fishway will be formed in each middle wall(52) in consideration of the strength of the structure of the middlewall (52), but the locations of the sea side (56) and fishways on thelake side (57) can be differentiated by top, middle and bottom to copewith the different swimming characteristics of the fish.

Furthermore, inside the fishways on the sea side (56) and the fishwayson the lake side (57) inside the middle walls (52), we may arrangemultiple partitions (58) in fixed intervals which provide temporaryresting and refuge for swimming fish as illustrated in FIG. 9.

The tidal power plant (10) of the present invention as described abovegenerates power through periodic repetition of the process in which theturbine structures (20) and turbine structures (24) use the differenceof water level between the open seawater (W) and the lake (L) by thedifference of flux and reflux of the tides, and the seawater on the lakeside (L) is returned to the sea side (W) through the water gates (54) ofthe gate structures (50).

During the tidal power generation described above, fish can move to theseawater side (W) or the lake side (L) through the inside stuffingspaces (25, 55) in the middle walls (22, 52) of the turbine structures(20) and the gate structures (50), the fishways on the sea side (26, 56)and the fishways on the lake side (27, 57).

The present invention can guarantee the free movement of various speciesof fish by allowing the fish to selectively use the fishways on the seaside (26, 56) and the fishways on the lake side (27, 57) which areformed at top, middle and bottom levels in the middle walls (22, 52)according to the swimming characteristics of the fish.

Furthermore, the fish can use the partitions formed in the fishways onthe sea side (26, 56) and the fishways on the lake side (27, 57) as aresting place or refuge during movement, as well as in the large spaceof the inside stuffing spaces (25, 55).

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 9, around the inner walls of the fishwayson the sea side (26, 56) and the fishways on the lake side (27, 57) andthe inner filling spaces (25, 55) are installed multiple guiding lamps(29, 59) in consideration of the visual characteristics of the fish.These guiding lamps (29, 59) can safely guide the fish to recognize andmove through the fishways on the sea side (26, 56) and the fishways onthe lake side (27, 57).

One interesting fact about the partial color blindness of fish is thatthe fish detects visual rays with longer wave lengths such as red ororange. Fishermen have long been aware of the fact that a fish sees andrecognizes the color red well from their experience. Therefore, it isdesirable to use red lamps that generate long wavelength infrared raysfor the above-mentioned guiding lamps (29, 59).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the present invention related to the fishways ofturbine structures and gate structures for tidal power plants is toprovide environmentally-friendly tidal power plants by forming insidestuffing space in a certain section of the vertical middle wallsinstalled to create blocks of turbine structures and gate structures ina tidal power plant for shorter construction period and reducedconstruction costs by concrete reduced placing quantity, and fishwaysthrough these inside stuffing space between the sea side and the lakeside so that fish can move between the sea side and the lake side.

Further, the present invention is to provide a tidal power plant byforming multiple fishways connected with the inside stuffing space inthe middle wall according to the swimming characteristics of fishdepending on the water depth so that many species of fish can movefreely, thus increasing the probability of fish movement.

1. A fishway of a turbine structure for tidal power plant, comprising: aturbine structure for tidal power plants, which comprises a base ofwhich the bottom part is on the marine rock, and vertical middle wallsare installed on the base by a predetermined distance, the top of whichis closed by a concrete structure wherein a draft tube is formed, andturbine generators arranged between the middle walls through the drafttube, thereby being operated in two units of one block; inside stuffingspaces in a predetermined section filled with seawater for shorterconstruction period and a reduction in concrete placing quantity; andfishways on the sea side and fishways on the lake side inside the middlewalls which are connected to the inside stuffing spaces at the front andrear of the middle walls so that fish can move between the sea side andthe lake side by flowing seawater to the sea side and the lake side. 2.The fishway of claim 1, wherein the fishways on the sea side and thefishways on the lake side formed in the middle wall may be formed in apredetermined interval in perpendicular direction to the middle wallsaccording to the swimming characteristics of the fish.
 3. The fishway ofclaim 1, wherein multiple partitions in a predetermined distance whichprovide temporary resting and refuge for swimming fish may be arrangedin an inner part of the fishways on the sea side and the fishways on thelake side formed in the middle walls.
 4. The fishway of claim 1, whereinplural guiding lamps in red color, which generate long wavelengthinfrared rays, to reduce the fish are installed around the inner wallsof the fishways on the sea side and the fishways on the lake side and inthe inside stuffing spaces.
 5. A fishway of a gate structure for tidalpower plant, comprising: a gate structure for tidal power plants, whichcomprises a base of which the bottom part is on the marine rock, andvertical middle walls are installed on the base in a predetermineddistance, the top of which is closed by a concrete structure wherein awaterway is formed, and water gates arranged between the middle wallsthrough the waterway, thereby being operated in two units of one block;inside stuffing spaces in a predetermined section filled with seawaterfor shorter construction period and a reduction in concrete placingquantity; and fishways on the sea side and fishways on the lake sideinside the middle walls which are connected to the inside stuffingspaces at the front and rear of the middle walls so that fish can movebetween the sea side and the lake side by flowing seawater to the seaside and the lake side.
 6. The fishway of claim 5, wherein the fishwayson the sea side and the fishways on the lake side formed in the middlewall may be formed in a predetermined interval in perpendiculardirection to the middle walls according to the swimming characteristicsof the fish.
 7. The fishway of claim 5, wherein multiple partitions in apredetermined distance which provide temporary resting and refuge forswimming fish may be arranged in an inner part of the fishways on thesea side and the fishways on the lake side formed in the middle walls.8. The fishway of claim 5, wherein plural guiding lamps in red color,which generate long wavelength infrared rays, to reduce the fish areinstalled around the inner walls of the fishways on the sea side and thefishways on the lake side and in the inside stuffing spaces.